Fifty-two Covid-19 related deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Monday.

This means that there are now 481 deaths from the respiratory illness, caused by the cornavirus.

The ministry also reported an increase of 1,032 new cases in the 24-hour reporting period - up from 22,583 on Sunday to 23,615 on Monday.

Of the dead, just under 54% were male. More than a quarter of the recorded deaths (133, or 27.7%) were in the 60 to 69 age category, followed by 50 to 59 (111 deaths, 23.1%). There were two reported deaths of children aged nine or younger.

The statistics already revealed that, between the last time details of the age of the deceased were provided on May 20 and Monday, another child under the age of 9 had died. No details have been provided on the second child's death.

The Western Cape remains the epicentre, while the Northern Cape is the only province with fewer than 100 recorded cases.

The provincial breakdown of cases, deaths and recoveries was on Monday provided as:

• Western Cape — 15,396 cases, 330 deaths, 7,221 recoveries;
• Gauteng — 2,993 cases, 30 deaths, 1,899 recoveries; 
• Eastern Cape — 2,748 cases, 61 deaths, 1,335 recoveries;
• KwaZulu-Natal — 1,882 cases, 49 deaths, 1,168 recoveries;
• Free State — 208 cases, 6 deaths, 121 recoveries;
• Limpopo — 132 cases, 3 deaths, 55 recoveries;
• North West — 109 cases, 1 death, 29 recoveries;
• Mpumalanga — 102 cases, 0 deaths, 61 recoveries; and
• Northern Cape — 45 cases, 1 deaths, 28 recoveries.

The figures are from a total of 596,777 of which 12,992 were done in the last 24-hour testing cycle.